High output, radial engine-powered, road-transportable apparatus used in on-site oil and gas operations

ABSTRACT

A transportable process platform is provided for maximizing process operations therefrom without exceeding transport weight requirement. Each platform supports a power unit comprising a driven component coupled to a lightweight radial engine. The radial engine is configurable with one or more supplemental cylinder rows to increase the power output to match the power demand of the driven equipment. The lightweight engine maximizes the power demand of the driven component until the weight of the power unit approaches the maximum payload weight of the platform. Operations requiring greater capacity that that provided by one platform only benefit from a minimum number of platforms, each having maximized power capacity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patentapplication Ser. No. 61/683,426, filed Aug. 15, 2012, the entirety ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Embodiments disclosed herein are related to maximizing power generationfor apparatus which is transportable by road under transport weightrestrictions for use at a site, and more particularly, for apparatuswhich is transported to a wellsite for use in oil and gas operations.

BACKGROUND

It is well known to transport a wide variety of apparatus, including butnot limited to drilling equipment and service equipment, from wellsiteto wellsite. Wellsite operations are characterized by equipmentrequiring significant power including in the thousands to tens ofthousands of horsepower.

Engines used to power such apparatus are required to meet strictemission requirements. In many cases therefore, the conventional enginesare high capacity so as to meet both the power demands and elevatedtemperature operational requirements to reduce emissions to meet theacceptable emission standards. As allowable emission levels become morerestrictive, the engines are far hotter and the size of the engines andduty required typically increases resulting in an increase in the sizeof the cooling systems. Large cooling equipment, such as are on moreradiators, is used to cool the engines. Diesel fueled engines, such asfor driving generators require significant cooling.

Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 and mounted on a prior art pumper for hydraulicfracture operations, the conventional power units and required radiatorsare associated with a significant weight which, if attempted at anyincreased the power demand level as may be desired, may exceed allowableroad limits for transport as a single unit, particularly as powerrequirements increase. Attempts to increase the volumetric capacity tomeet the larger process demands has typically resulted in a plurality ofunits or results in in heavy transportable units which exceed mostweight restrictions on roads imposed by organizations such as state,provincial and federal Departments of Transportation (DOT), or whichotherwise require special permitting. Such regulations vary dependingupon the type of roadways normally available to access wellsitelocations and whether said roadways are under the jurisdiction ofmunicipal, provincial, state or federal governments. In Alberta, Canadathe requirements are set forth in the Traffic Safety Act, CommercialVehicle Dimension And Weight Regulation, Alberta Regulation 315/2002.

As a result, transport of the power units themselves may require theaddition of one or more platforms or trailers over and above those usedfor the apparatus which utilize the unit's power. For large powerrequirements, power supply units and associated drive equipment aredivided up into a plurality of parallel units. Thus, there is typicallysignificant assembly required onsite once the various components havebeen transported.

There is a need in the industry for capable power plants which have asmaller footprint, lower weight and to facilitate road-transport withinrespective regulatory, such as DOT guidelines. Such units would be partof a system that requires a minimum number of personnel to operate andmust be in compliance with transportation regulations in the greatestnumber of wellsites. More particularly, there is a need for apparatuswhich can be transported without excessive transport permitting.

SUMMARY

In one particular context, the development of hydraulic fracturing inthe oil and gas stimulation industry, over last 40 years, has resultedin ever increasing hydraulic horsepower (HP) requirements for hydraulicfracturing jobs. The power increase has been more than 100 times,increasing from 75 HP to over 10,000 HP. Similar oil and gas equipmentrequiring significant pumping horsepower includes cement pumps, nitrogenpumps, blenders, pressure trucks Carbon Dioxide pumps and propane pumps.

Often due to road transport limitations of the weight of roadableplatforms, a plurality of units are provided that, in total, provide thenecessary volumes of stimulation fluids and power required. Multipleunits are associated with a variety of costs including repeated capitalcost associated with each unit and personnel hired to deliver theseplurality of units to a site.

As stated above, the current internal combustion power choices forcoupling to fluid pumps are limited, either by their cost, such as inthe case of expensive gas turbines, or by their overall equipment weightincluding the need for the large, heavy cooling equipment.

Herein, one or more design elements are combined to significantlyincrease the power plant capacity and minimize the number of platformsrequired for a given site process requirement. Generally, in embodimentdisclosed herein, a power plant is provided for each unit that requiresminimum or no supplemental cooling and is relieved of the usual excessweight associated therewith. Each power plant is readily sized for theprocess requirements and power demand without significant variation inneither space nor weight requirements.

In a broad aspect a transportable power platform for oil and gaswellsite usage comprises a transportable platform and one or more drivencomponents of oil and gas equipment supported by the platform, eachdriven component has a power demand. In the oil and gas wellsiteenvironment, the one or more driven components requires at least a basepower demand of about 1500 HP or greater. To drive the components, aradial engine is also supported by the platform, the radial enginehaving normally air-cooled cylinders, and a power output matched toabout the power demand of the one or more driven components. The radialengine is coupled thereto. Auxiliary support equipment is provided toservice the one or more driven components and radial engine.

In another aspect, a system is provided for minimizing a number oftransportable power platforms for providing process fluid to an oil andgas wellsite, comprising a plurality of transportable power units, eachhaving a maximum payload weight, supporting a fluid pump having a powerdemand and having a power plant for providing a power output about thatof the power demand. Each fluid pump comprises one or more driven fluidpumps and each power plant comprises a multi-row radial engine having arow multiplier to provide a power output to match the process powerdemand. A combined weight of auxiliary support equipment, one or moredriven components and the multi-row engine is at about the maximumpayload weight.

In another aspect, a process for maximizing the delivery of processfluid to an oil and gas wellsite, using a minimum number oftransportable platforms supporting the fluid pumps thereon, comprisesproviding a plurality of transportable platforms, each having a maximumpayload weight and supporting power unit thereon. Each power unitcomprises a fluid pump having a power demand and a radial engine havingat least one cylinder row for providing a power output about that of thepower demand. The engine is configurable by configuring each radialengine for providing a base row of the at least one cylinder row and oneor more supplemental rows according to a row multiplier established as aratio of the power demand and the power output. When the row multiplierhas a value of two or more, the radial engine is configured to have thebase row and one or more supplemental rows respectively so as to matchthe power output to the power demand. One maximizes the power demand ofthe fluid pump and power output of the radial engine until a weight ofthe power unit is up to about the maximum payload weight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a prior art transportable platform for an oiland gas wellsite pumping unit having a diesel power plant coupled to apump and having a radiator arrangement across the top of the power plantand pump;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a hydraulic fracturing pump, a gear boxand a diagrammatic representation of a single row radial engine;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a hydraulic fracturing pump, a gear boxand a diagrammatic representation of a three row radial engine and asupplementary radiator, each cylinder row being rotationally offset, thecylinders being illustrated in schematic form only;

FIGS. 2C1, 2C2 and 2C3 are side schematic illustrations of varioustransportable platforms for supporting the power and drive equipmentunits, namely self-propelled, trailer and trailered-skids respectively;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a multi-row engine, the engine utilizingthree rows of 1500 HP engines for a total of 4500 HP;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a hydraulic fracturing pump, a gear box and arepresentation of a four row radial engine and a supplementary radiator;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of two pumps coupled through a splitter toa multi row engine; and

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a website for a large hydraulic fracturingoperation, a plurality of 10 units arranged in parallel for producingtwice the conventional horsepower heretofore available without doublingthe number of units.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrated a self-powered platform 10 having an engine 12, aradiator 14 and one or more driven components 16 such as equipment suchas a 2500 HP hydraulic fracturing pump or frac pump. Applicant has notedthat, historically, there is a form of internal combustion engine havingtheir cylinders and reciprocating pistons arranged radially about acentral crankshaft. Such radial engines were typically used in thepropeller-driven aircraft industry, namely because of their high powerto weight ratio. Such radial engines are also often and normallyair-cooled, particularly the cylinders being air-cooled, absent theliquid cooling and radiators of the more conventional power plants.Typically such aircraft engines are not appropriately sized to meet thepower requirements of conventional oil and gas operations. Typicallynumbering in hundreds or several thousands of HP, larger capacityengines are rare and the largest radial engine to date appears to havebeen the 4-row Lycoming R-7755 engine, being the largest piston-drivenaircraft engine ever produced; with 36 cylinders (4 rows×9 cylinders perrow) totaling about 7,750 in3 (127 L) of displacement and a power outputof 5,000 horsepower (3,700 kW).

Large radial engines were eventually supplanted by jet engines, alsolightweight, but at a much higher capital cost. An early patentillustration of a multi-row radial engine is as set forth in U.S. Pat.No. 2,787,994 to Brill (General Motors) in 1957. Historical records arepopulated with versions of multi-row engines.

No longer applied exclusively for aircraft, Applicant is also aware thata small, relatively lightweight, 1500 HP radially-configured, aircooled, reciprocating engine, used to power a one megawatt (1 MW)generator or genset, is available from CLEAR ENERGY™ Systems Inc. ofTempe, Ariz., USA. One such engine to Clear Energy is as illustrated inpublished US patent application US 2010/0072757 (A1) to Kelly et al,published Mar. 25, 2010. The Clear Energy radial engine is about onethird the size and coupled with a generator is about one fifth theweight of a comparable diesel genset.

To date however, no radial engines have been employed as drivers for theoil and gas industry. Through the application of lightweight aircraftpower plants to oil field and wellsite duties, Applicant has found thathigh power-requirement operations can now be accomplished by maximizingthe usefulness and capability of mobile, transportable units whileremaining within road transport weight regulations. The number oftransportable units is minimized by maximizing each unit for maximumpower output and cooling equipment if any, is minimized so to becontained on one roadable, transportable unit within weight allowances.

Applicant also understands radial engines to have a higher tolerance forimpurities than a conventional diesel-fueled engine and are moreflexible with respect to the type of fuel utilized. Thus, the radialengine can have a fuel source selected from natural gas (NG), which maybe produced and compressed (CNG) on-site, and butane or propane, all ofwhich are commonly available on-site at an oil or gas wellsite.

Further, unlike diesel engines, which require fuel to be recirculatedfrom the engine to a recirculation tank, a radial engine fueled usingCNG, propane or butane does not require any recirculation of fuel.

Accordingly, as shown in an embodiment of FIG. 2A, a power unit 18includes a 1500 HP radial engine 20 coupled for driving relatively smalldriven components 22 such as fluid pumps such as small frac pumps. Fracpumps are used for pumping fluids downhole during a formation treatmentor fracturing operation. Typically the engine 20 is themechanically-coupled to the driven components 22. Such a power unit 18includes engines 20 coupled with other driven components 22 such aslarger frac pumps, other stimulation equipment, nitrogen pumps andvaporizers, cement pumps, blenders and the like. The radial engine canbe air-cooled such as passively or by a forced air fan 24, absent aliquid radiator and weight associated therewith. Air cooled engines canbe aided with forced air cooling or supplemental liquid cooling with aradiator 29.

Conveniently, one or more gensets, fit with radial engines, can also befueled from the same fuel source as the radial engines 20 of the powerunits 18.

Turning to FIG. 2B, in some embodiments, despite rotational offsettingof the cylinders 26 in each row 28, the generally close coupling of therows 28 can impair air cooling. Thus, a relatively small liquid coolingsystem or radiator 29 can be provided to supplement air cooling 24,without adding significantly to the weight. With reference to FIGS. 2C1,2C2 and 2C3, the lightweight power plant can be configured to bemountable on the bed of a self-propelled truck unit 10 (the platform ofprior art FIG. 1), a trailer 30 or on a skid 32 which can be transportedon a trailer 30. All of which are subject and compliant with DOT weightallowances.

A 1500 HP engine however does not generally provide sufficient output todrive larger on-site wellsite equipment such as large frac pumps, cementpumps, drilling equipment and the like. Typically, a large frac pump,requires an engine having an output of at least about 2500 HP. A fracpump of 2500 HP and corresponding prior art power plants, such as adiesel engine, happen to weigh about the maximum that can be transportedon roadways under DOT requirements.

As shown in FIG. 3, where each cylinder row of a radial engine canproduce about 1500 HP (about 1.1 MW), additional cylinder rows 28 xmultiply the power output, three coupled cylinder rows 28 b,28 x,28 xproducing 4500 HP, providing more than enough output for powering asingle common 3500 HP frac pump or for powering two, 2500 HP pumps at aderated performance, all of which of which being mountable on a singletransportable platform such as a trailer bed. Thus, such an enhancedradial engine comprises multiple 1500 HP radial engines in a three-row,multi-row arrangement which are operatively connected, such as through acommon driveshaft and transmission 40, for a nominal 4500 HP poweroutput to drive the equipment.

As shown in FIG. 4, a four-row engine 20, having a base row 28 b, and 3three additional rows 28 x,28 x,28 x, is coupled to a pump 22 by a gearbox 40. The overall power unit 18 of engine and pump is shown with afanciful coupling of an engine as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,994.While liquid cooling was not originally contemplated, note that theindividual cylinders of each row are not offset and a supplementalliquid radiator can be provided. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 2Bthrough 5, Applicant provides at least one radial engine 20 having oneor more rows 28 of cylinders having a base row 28 b and additional rows28 x,28 x . . . as necessary, stacked in a multi-row arrangement andoperatively connected therebetween, for generating sufficient power fora variety of oil and gas apparatus. In particular, large power demandsarise particularly in powering a various fluid pumps on-site, wellsite,stimulation equipment or operating drilling equipment. The largeroutput, radial, multi-row engine 20 has a greater power to weight ratio,and meets or exceeds the emissions requirements. As set forth inliterature by Clear Energy Systems (of Tempe, Ariz.) their modernversion of a single row, nine cylinder, 30 liter radial engine hasspecifications including a weight of 1500 lbs, 1550 hp in a package thatis 62 inches in diameter, 31 inches in length. For comparison, aconventional engine such as the Cat G3516B (by Caterpillar, Inc. USA),at 1380 HP has a specification weight of 18,520 lbs—or over 10 timesweight of the radial engine. Coupled with a comparable 1 MW generatoradds about 3,500 pounds and associated other weight components andstructure to a total of about 26,000 pounds. Adding the same generatoror comparable equipment such as a fluid pump to the Clear Energy enginecombined to a total power unit 18 having a weight of about 5,000 poundsor about 20% of the prior art. In the prior art, a conventional powerplant, such as a 2 MW (about a nominal 2500 HP), using a similar sameengine as the Cat G3518 above, has an even heaver package weight of over30,000 lbs. As the maximum weight allowed on municipal roads for atridem axle trailer is about 17,000 kg, or 38,000 lbs, one can see thatthere is no further room to increase equipment capacity under the priorart paradigm.

In other words, a comparable prior art power plant and driven componentsare about ⅕ the weight of conventional systems and enables larger powerplants and driven components to be supported on conventional platformsin compliance with DOT weight requirements.

In particular, and as shown in Table 1, for a variety of common pumpsizes, one or more rows 28 are configured to match the equipment powerdemand requirements. An engine has at least a base row 28 b, andadditional rows 28,28 x,28 x as necessary. Thus each engine has a basepower output. Further, there is a row multiplier for determining thepower output of a multi-row engine. The number of rows is configuredwhere the power demand divided by the base power output yields the rowmultiplier. The row multiplier is an integer. One design approach is toround down the demand to output ratio so as to operate the drivencomponents at a derated capacity for longer equipment life.

In determining the optimal unit 18, one starts with the transportableplatform having a maximum payload weight. The one or more drivencomponents have an equipment weight and the radial engine has an engineweight including a base engine weight, having at least the base row 28b, and a supplemental cylinder row weight for each additional row 28x,28 x . . . and incremental or additional power associated therewith.The coupled, driven component and radial engine form a power unit 18having a combined weight. The driven component 22 is selected for aprocess power demand, such as that necessary for the wellsite process,where multiple units are required to meet the process requirements, afractional process power demand. The radial engine has a base poweroutput for a single base row. Generally, each row adds a power incrementabout the same as that of the base power output. The number of rows formeeting the process power demand, including the base row, is equal to aninteger value of the process ratio of the process power demand to basepower output. Whether the integer value is rounded up or down is matterof operational preference. A rounding down of the multiplier derates thedriven components and a rounding up ensues there is more power outputavailable than power demand. The combined weight of all of the drivencomponents 22, engine coupling components are less than or equal to themaximum payload weight.

In other words, one maximizes the power demand up to about the maximumpayload weight and minimizes the transportable platforms. Each of aplurality of transportable platforms has a maximum payload weight andsupports a power unit 18 thereon. Each power unit 18 comprises a drivencomponent such as a fluid pump having a power demand. Each power unit 18further comprises a radial engine having at least one cylinder row forproviding a power output about that of the power demand. One configureseach radial engine by providing a base row of the at least one cylinderrow and one or more supplemental rows according to the row multiplier,the multiplier being established as a ratio of the power demand to thepower output. The multiplier will have a practical maximum thresholdratio, such as where cooling or maintenance is adversely affected,thereafter additional units of engines and drive component beingrequired. When the row multiplier has a value of two or more, the radialengine has the base row and is further fit with one or more supplementalrows respectively so as to match the power output to the power demand.The power demand of the fluid pump and power output of the radial engineare maximized until a weight of the power unit up to the maximum payloadweight.

The weight Wu of a unit 18, being maximized to about maximum payloadweight Wm is equal to the weight of the driven component We plus theweight of the engine We and the weight of each supplemental row Wr, ifany, and the weight of the auxiliary equipment Waux including the gearbox. The number supplemental rows depending on the number of rows Nrowsdetermined suitable to meet the power demand, namely:

Wu=Wc+We+(Wr×Nrows)+Waux

The number of rows Nrows, including the base rows 28 b and anysupplemental rows 28 x, is established from the ratio of the powerdemand of the driven component Pc divided by the power output of theengine with just the base row Peb. Therefore:

Nrows=Pc/Peb

Maximizing the power unit 18 involves increasing the power demand Pc andadding supplemental rows according to Nrows until Wu is about themaximum payload weight. If the number of rows Nrows exceeds thethreshold ratio, then additional units 18 are required, each unit havingunit weight Wu that is only a portion of maximum payload weight, thecombined weight of the units no exceeding the maximum payload weight.

TABLE 1 Equipment Power Total Demand to Demand Number Power Output ratioEngine (per pc) of Demand (Base Peb = Engine Rows Power (Common) PiecesPc 1500) Nrow Output 1500 HP 1 1500 1 1 1500 1800 1 1800 1 1 1500 3000 13000 2 2 3000 3500 1 3500 2.3 2 3000 2500 2 5000 3.3 3 (FIGS. 2B, 3)4500 3000 2 6000 4 4 (FIG. 4) 6000

Applicant believes that all of the above can be placed on atransportable platform and remain within DOT weight limits. In wellsiteoperations that involve very large capacities, such as hydraulicfracturing, one can immediately reduce the number of requiredtransportable platforms to one half, with the associated reduction incapital cost and personnel. With the ability to place large capacityequipment on trailers or skids, one can also move from integrated,self-powered platforms to trailered platforms. A shift to traileredplatforms further reduces personnel cost as one can reduce the need forprior art staffing of one driver per platform to a small pool of driversfor shuttling multiple trailered platforms from wellsite to wellsite.

Simply, a transportable platform will have a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW)that must comply with DOT requirements. The net payload comprises thecombined weight of process equipment or driven components, the engineand auxiliary equipment for cooperative operation therebetween, andinterfaces to the wellsite. A prior art payload of upwards of 30,000pounds (for 2500 HP) can now be reduced to a payload more in the orderof less than about 10,000 pounds yet providing a like power demand. Onecan see that the possible configurations for increased power demand andcorresponding engines improves significantly. Indeed, the Clear Energyone-row, radial engine, fit to a 1 MW (nominal 1500 HP) generator ispackaged in a trailer unit that is towable by a one ton pickup truck andweighs in the order of about 15,000 lbs, including the trailer.

Thus, for a given transportable platform, having a GVW, one candetermine the maximum payload and maximize the driven componentaccordingly.

The weight of driven components is associated with certain auxiliarycomponents such as piping for pumps, and a drive line between the engineand the driven components. The driveline may be as simple as adriveshaft and coupling or often includes gear boxes and structure tosupport same. The engine has little auxiliary equipment, and in the caseof a radial engine having one or a few cylinder rows, the engine is aircooled, however as the cooling air flow through becomes impeded withadditional cylinder rows, one can include supplemental liquid cooling orradiators.

Applicant has determined that for a given payload, such as an integratedtransportable platform as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2C1, one can at leastdouble the power output and corresponding driven components. Thus,conventional equipment at a power demand of 2,500 HP, driven with a, lowemission, yet heavy, diesel engine, can be replaced with 5,000 HP drivencomponent and a light, three-row, 4500 HP radial engine. The drivencomponents, rated for 5,000 HP, can be driven at a derated 4,500 HP forextended life of the driven components. While the rated power demand canbe matched closely with a corresponding engine, the increased power toweight ratio for the radial engine configurations enables one toover-design the driven components, which could otherwise be too heavy inthe prior art scenarios. Operation of the driven components at deratedpower demand result in lower maintenance and longer operation betweenfailures.

An example of a multi-row radial engine includes a Pratt & WhitneyR-4360 Wasp Major that was a large 28-cylinder air-cooled, four-row by 7cylinders per row, radial piston aircraft engine designed and builtduring World War II and having variations producing between about 2500HP to nearly about 4000 HP.

As mentioned above, cooling of multi-row engines may not be as efficientusing the air cooled system alone, as it is in the case for a single-row1500 HP engine. Accordingly, each row 28 of multi-row radial engines,such as the R-4360 Wasp, are slightly rotationally offset or staggeredeach row aid in air-cooling of aft-rows aided by forced air in this caseby propeller wash. Thus, one can supplement cooling with a relativelysmall, lightweight liquid circulation cooling system or radiator.Optionally, one need not stagger the rows and merely incorporate liquidcooling. As the engines can be both air and liquid cooled, any liquidcooling is a fraction of that used in comparable diesel power plants.

Where additional power is required, such as for apparatus exceedingabout 5,000 HP and stacking of cylindrical rows beyond three (FIG. 3) orfour (FIG. 4) becomes unwieldy, one can provide additional multi-rowengines arranged in parallel, driving multiple items of drivencomponents to provide the required power.

As shown in FIG. 5, in an embodiment for use in powering two, 2500 HPfrac pumps 22,22 mountable on a trailer bed 30, the radial engine 20 cancomprise a comparably matched three or four rows 28 radially stacked1500 HP engines in a multi-row arrangement having an output shaft whichis operatively connected to the frac pumps, such as shown in gear boxesof transmissions 40, 40 of each of the two pumps 22, 22. In anembodiment, the multi-row engines 20 may be operatively connected to thepumps' transmissions 40, 40 using a splitter transfer box 42.

The number of engines 20 and cylinder rows 28 are configured so as tohave an output matched to meet power demand for equipment 22. Where oneradial engine 20 is insufficient for the process demand, engines havingtwo or more cylinder rows 28 b, 28 x . . . can be provided and whenmulti-row engines reach a design limit, such as cooling or maintenanceconsideration, multiple engines 20, 20 can be provided such as in someparallel arrangement. One design scenario, as described earlier, is toprovide an engine 20 at a power output less than that of the coupleddriven components 22 for operating the equipment at a derated capacityfor longer expected equipment life.

In wellsite operations that involve very large capacities, such ashydraulic fracturing, one can immediately reduce the number of requiredtransportable platforms to at least one half, with the associatedreduction in capital cost and personnel. With the ability to place largecapacity equipment on trailers, one can also move from integrated,self-powered platforms to trailered platforms. A shift to traileredplatforms further reduces personnel cost as one can reduce the need forprior art staffing of one driver per platform to a small pool of driversfor shuttling multiple trailered platforms from wellsite to wellsite.

In the context of the frac industry currently has an infrastructurecomprising a plurality of trucks with pumps, such as quintuplex pumpsand diesel engines mounted thereon as self-propelled frac units or aplurality of trailer units to which the pumps and diesel engines aremounted for transport using a fleet of trucks. On-site, the pumpertrucks are parked adjacent the well or wells for positioning the pumpfor performing a fracturing operation. Using light-weight embodimentsdisclosed herein, the frac industry no longer has need for their owncrew of drivers and transport infrastructure. Frac pumps havinglightweight radial engines, as disclosed herein, are sufficientlylight-weight that the units can be mounted on skids or on trailer units,which can be picked up and spotted at the wellsite, such as by acommercial transport company, as required.

In embodiments, as shown in FIG. 6, radial engine-driven frac pump powerunits 18 are each mounted on a plurality of skids or trailers 30 whichare transported to a wellsite for use in a frac operation. As a resultof the concepts disclosed herein, each of the trailer units orskid-mounted units loaded on trailers for transport, meets the heightand weight restrictions for road transport, including the additionalweight of skid embodiments. The trailers 30 and supported power units 18are arranged about a well 50. In addition to the power units 18,additional on-site equipment can include a nitrogen unit 52 andvaporizer 54, and a proppent blender 56 as part of a another power unit18.

Further individual, one or more radial engine gensets 58, such as the 1MW GENESIS 1000™, can be used to generate power for operating auxiliaryapparatus on-site. Thus, a single fuel source is possible for allengines and power generation required at the site.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide a number of advantages:

-   -   increased power generation with decreased emissions and        decreased weight;    -   readily configurable power plants to meet power demands of        driven components;    -   power to weight ratio increased resulting in        -   more power per unit yet still within transport weight            limits;        -   fewer units required for wellsite operations; and        -   a package which can be trailer or skid mounted for            commercial transport which is more cost effective and            flexible such that the frac industry no longer has to            maintain their own fleet of self-propelled units and            tractors and support the cost of the transport; and    -   flexible fuel requirements permit use of fuels available        on-site, such as natural gas, butane and propane;    -   a single fuel source for all power units, power output and        electrical generation on-site;    -   simplified fuel source and supply;    -   use of multiple platforms for transport: on self-propelled        units, on trailer units or on skids; and    -   meets or exceeds current emission requirements with potential to        meet or exceed future emission requirements.

The embodiments of the invention for which an exclusive property ofprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. A transportable powerplatform for oil and gas wellsite usage comprising: a transportableplatform; one or more driven components of oil and gas equipmentsupported by the platform and having a power demand; and a radial enginesupported by the platform, the radial engine having normally air-cooledcylinders, and a power output matched to about the power demand of theone or more driven components and being coupled thereto.
 2. Thetransportable power platform of claim 1 comprising: wherein the radialengine has one or more supplemental cylinder rows, the total number ofrows configured to provide a power output to match the power demand ofone or more driven components.
 3. The transportable power platform ofclaim 1 further wherein: the transportable platform has a maximumpayload weight; the one or more driven components have an equipmentweight and the radial engine has an engine weight including a baseengine weight and supplemental cylinder row weight, the coupled, drivencomponents and radial engine forming a power unit having a combinedweight; the one or more driven components being selected with a processpower demand, the radial engine has a base power output for a singlebase row, and the number of rows, including the base row, is equal to aprocess ratio of the process power demand to base power output; andcombined weight being less than or equal to the maximum payload weight.4. The transportable power platform of claim 1 wherein: thetransportable trailer has a maximum payload weight; and a combinedweight of the auxiliary support equipment, one or more driven componentsand the radial engine is at about the maximum payload weight.
 5. Thetransportable power platform of claim 4 wherein: the radial engine is amulti-row radial engine having a base row and one or more supplementalcylinder rows, the total number of rows configured to provide a poweroutput to match the power demand of the one or more driven components.6. The transportable power platform of claims 1 wherein: the auxiliarysupport equipment further comprises supplementary liquid cooling for theradial engine.
 7. The transportable power platform of claims 1 whereinthe transportable platform is a trailer for supporting a skid, the skidsupporting the power unit.
 8. The transportable power platform of claim1 wherein the transportable platform is a trailer for supporting thepower unit.
 9. A system for minimizing a number of transportable powerplatforms for providing process fluid to an oil and gas wellsite,comprising: a plurality of transportable power units, each having amaximum payload weight, supporting a fluid pump having a power demandand a power plant for providing a power output about that of the powerdemand; wherein each fluid pump comprises one or more driven fluidpumps; each power plant comprises a multi-row radial engine having a rowmultiplier to provide a power output to match the process power demand;and a combined weight of auxiliary support equipment, one or more drivencomponents and the multi-row engine is at about the maximum payloadweight.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein: the process power demand isabout 4500 HP; and the multi-row radial engine is a three-row radialengine, each row having a nominal power output of 1500 HP.
 11. Thesystem of claim 9 wherein: the process power demand is about 5,000 HP;and the multi-row radial engine is a three-row radial engine, each rowhaving a nominal power output of 1500 HP for a total power output ofabout 4,500 HP.
 12. The system of claim 11 wherein the one or more pumpsis two pumps, further comprising: a mechanical splitter for splittingthe power output of the multi-row radial engine between the two pumps.13. A process for maximizing the delivery of process fluid to an oil andgas wellsite using a minimum number of transportable platformssupporting the fluid pumps thereon, comprising: providing a plurality oftransportable platforms, each having a maximum payload weight andsupporting power unit thereon, each power unit comprising a fluid pumphaving a power demand and a radial engine having at least one cylinderrow for providing a power output about that of the power demand; andconfiguring each radial engine by providing a base row of the at leastone cylinder row and one or more supplemental rows according to a rowmultiplier established as a ratio of the power demand and the poweroutput, so that when the row multiplier has a value of two or more, theradial engine has the base row and one or more supplemental rowsrespectively so as to match the power output to the power demand;coupling each fluid pump with a radial engine. maximizing the powerdemand of the fluid pump and power output of the radial engine until aweight of the power unit is up to about the maximum payload weight. 14.The process of claim 13 wherein when the row multiplier exceeds athreshold ratio, further comprising providing two or more power units onthe transportable platform, the combined weight of the two or more powerunits being less than about the maximum payload weight.
 15. The processof claim 13 further comprising: one or more gensets comprising agenerator and a radial engine; and wherein the radial engines of thepower units and gensets are fueled from the same fuel source.